Sgt. Jim Mauro has been found guilty of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act.
The decision was given Friday by adjudicator Morris Elbers at the Valhalla Inn. Like the two-day trial on Feb. 15 and 16, neither Mauro nor his lawyer was present.
Mauro, suspended with pay since March 26, 2010, was charged with two counts of misconduct.
The second charge of deceit against Mauro was dismissed by Elbers because the particulars of that charge are included in the discreditable conduct charge.b
In a letter obtained by TB Newswatch sent out by the Mauro family, the family indicated the matter isn't finished yet.
"The taxpayers in this city should be appalled by the incredible waste of hundreds of thousands of municipal dollars. We will of course be appealing the decision," the letter, signed the Mauro family, states.
Mauro is alleged to have forwarded a letter to the Police Services Board that he claimed was written by Hobbs.
The letter allegedly was an appeal by Hobbs, a former police association president, to allow Mauro to apply for promotions while serving a previous suspension.
Elbers stated it is evident from testimony from the four witnesses, including Mayor Keith Hobbs, who was the staff sergeant at the time of the incident, that the document in question was “not created by then Staff Sgt. Hobbs, president of the Thunder Bay Police Association, or approved in any way by the executive or membership of the Thunder Bay Police Association.”
“This was a document written and created by Sgt. Mauro to further his own cause,” Elbers said.
Initially presented with the letter in the fall of 2009 by another officer, Hobbs said he hadn’t seen the letter before.
However, the mayor testified in February that Mauro told him he had shown him the letter, but he couldn’t recall seeing it. He had just worked 30 hours straight and was on medication for a lung infection.
Elbers also said the evidence is clear that the document was created by Mauro without the authorization of Hobbs and “at best, the evidence would lead to a conclusion that Hobbs would have given his blessing to a will say statement only.”
After the decision was given, Ian Johnstone, the lawyer representing the Thunder Bay Police Service, gave his final submissions for sentencing to Elbers.
He asked that Mauro be permanently demoted to the rank of constable.
Johnstone said Mauro’s actions were designed to deceive and for his own benefits and there has been no recognition of the seriousness of misconduct by Mauro.
By not showing up to the hearing, Mauro showed he had no respect for the process, argued Johnstone.
There is also need for serious consequences because Mauro holds a supervisor position in the police force and is therefore expected to act as a role model for other officers. He is also a high-profile member of the community, he said.
“People are looking to see what happens to an officer when he breaks the law,” Johnstone said.
Deputy chief Andy Hay told reporters after the final submissions that this incident has not only damaged the reputation of Mauro professionally and personally, but it has damaged the reputation of the Thunder Bay Police Service.
“This has been a very, very public incident,” he said. “It’s unfortunate it took two years.”
Hay added the police service isn’t seeking termination because it is a strong penalty and under the Police Services Act, it requires a lengthy history of misconduct or an extremely serious misconduct.
“This misconduct we do see as serious but we feel that it can be dealt with without Sgt. Mauro losing his job,” he said.
“His re-entry back into the service will take some planning and some work on everybody’s part,” Hay added.
It has taken two years to reach this decision in Mauro’s case and the cost, including legal fees, does come out of the police budget and taxpayer dollars.
But Hay said it’s not a financial issue, but one of integrity.
“It’s an issue we look at maintaining the confidence that we are conducting proper proceedings with respect to any misconduct or the conduct of our officers that may be in question,” he said. “To put a dollar value on it, I think that would be inappropriate.”
Elbers will return to Thunder Bay with the final sentence for Mauro on April 5.
